Ayame wrote:Currently watching Claymore. It's been on my to-watch list for a while.

Claymore is a favorite of mine. I hope you enjoy it.

I recently had to chance to binge-read the manga, and there's a very clear "divergent point" where the manga story continues, but those that produced the anime elected to do something else with (probably because they wanted to have a clear and definite end point). That said, the difference didn't bother me at all, and both versions are actually enjoyable. I personally think the anime is grade-A, and I appreciate that it has a definite beginning and end.

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I recently read as much as has been translated of a manga called Otoyomegatari, or A Bride's Story. I mentioned before in this thread about Emma: A Victorian Romance, by Kaoru Mori, and this is another work of her's. As much as I enjoyed Emma, I might like this one even more. She might be my favorite manga artist right now.

So, the manga. Let me quote the first few pages' narration boxes -

Kaoru Mori, A Bride's Story wrote:The days and nights of nomads and settlers on the eternal land...

The 19th century, in central Asia. A rural city near the Caspian Sea.

The bride, who rode her horse from a distant village over the mountains...is eight years older than her groom. Her name is Amira Hergal. She is 20 years old. His name is Karluk Ayhan. He is 12 years old.

They started living together...just a few days ago.

With that, the story begins in earnest. I think the story and the characters are fantastic. I felt a genuine connection with nearly everyone who's an important character, and I honestly felt like I could relate to almost all of them in some way. Some people have said that there's only a little conflict in the tale, but I disagree. While there's only one main source of external conflict, I feel like the characters themselves provide more conflict. Not in the sense that they fight or oppose one another, but rather in the clash between the dreams, hopes, and desires of the various individuals. I think it's superb because we face this kind of conflict in real life, and having to deal with this sort of issue - rather than demons or a rival ninja clan - makes it very easy to relate and connect with the characters.

The art. I can't say enough about it. It might be the most beautiful I've ever seen in a manga. Characters are excellent. Landscapes. Objects. Everything feels like it got tons of attention.

One thing this manga does is, several chapters in, it suddenly changes focus from Amira and Karluk to other characters. We then spend maybe a dozen or so chapters following their story - these characters are related to the original story at least. Eventually, we also leave them, to follow another story of someone this second group met up with, and become involved with those individuals. It's an interesting way to go about it, and while I would love to see more of Amira and Karluk, I don't feel put-off by the new stories we follow. One in particular left a big impact on me, and it reminds us that not all stories have happy endings.

I'm not sure what else to say, other than I absolutely adore this manga, and Kaoru Mori can have all my money forever.

Disclaimer: in this particular manga, she's not shy about characters being mostly naked from time to time, although sex itself is never shown (not that either is an issue for me, but it realize it might be for others). It strikes me as there being more nudity than "normal" (whatever that happens to be), but it never felt particularly out-of-place. In context, it definitely makes sense, and was never an issue for me personally; I just happened to notice it.

Pretty sure I've read Bride Story (maybe just the first book), but it was a while ago. Rather like the Emma- A Victorian Romance anime. It' amuses me a little that it sits on the shelf with the fantasy shows.

I'm quite new to anime and manga so my current list is pretty limited... But on manga front I'm currently reading The Ravages of Time and Vagabond... And on the anime front I'm currently watching Legend of Galactic Heroes.... Its subbed but its really good....

Apollo Kenobi wrote:I'm quite new to anime and manga so my current list is pretty limited... But on manga front I'm currently reading The Ravages of Time and Vagabond... And on the anime front I'm currently watching Legend of Galactic Heroes.... Its subbed but its really good....

I'm not new to anime or manga, but my own watch list is also limited. Many of the mainstream shows (like Inuyasha, Naruto, Ruroni Kenshin, among others), are something I only have passing knowledge of, if any. For whatever reason, I tend to gravitate toward lesser-known titles.

I also personally prefer subtitles above dubbed versions; but then, I even watch English movies with subtitles, so maybe it's just me?